Speed-indicator.



G. H. LANG.

v SPEED INDICATOR. APPLl'cATmN man FEB. 1o. 191s.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

v #my /01 ,7

G. H. LANG.

SPEED INDICATR.

APPLICATION man FEB.10,1913.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,5o tial y STATE-S .PATENT OFFICE.

` GEORGE H. LANG, F BOSTON,. MA'SS. ACHUSETTS.

SPEED-INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Nov. 14, 1916.

Applicatipnled February 10, 1913. SeriaLNo. 747,314.

.of the .objetspf the invention is, to provide Y 5 .animproved mechanism .of this type having `s'uch. constructiontliat. Whenthe indicating member is S e t at the predetenninedtime in- -terialssiiid,,indicating,member ,will moveto the proper pointtojndiqatethe Ispeed .at .20 such time. and lremain `there Without any viblatien l .liefellugto thel .drawings whereinl have .illuetfated' .one 'embodiment Y of my invention, rlfigilire 1 isa sectional view through J.25, the 4operativ-e parts. ofthe `speed indicator on substantially, the line. 7J-fb, Fig. .2 Fig. n2, is a plan view of the mechanism shown in .Fig. 1; f'lig. 8 is a perspectivevieiv of the releasing cam; 4, i s a s ectional vieiv'on a reduced scalev on substantially theline c-, b2;lig- ,jsasectional view on erbeten idly. the .line ddl, .Fg- .2; Fig 6 isl an .enlarged section on they line e-e',fFig. 1.

' .The min wirteofthe .appara-tus herein e shown .are Similar to the .correSpQIlding part-suohthe Idevice shown 1n I said Patent Nr 1512.856955 .Thse Dalits @emprise e driving member A.40 which ist'ast on Aa shaft lt1monnted, inY a ,suitable frame 42, 4and which :that .ofthe machine .the .Speedlefwwhieh iS.

.Lto be'.,de.ter1nined.. a ,positenig ,member 43 which isf driven ,forwardimd .L positioned by 40' .the riving L member 4.0,: andian jindlcating kinerriloer '1 which is set at ,predetermined .time intervals pesiten determined -by the Dee-mening member .43

` T e, 1arts.t' h .11 s.far described vare substan- .lliel '.=.1S .tl 1e .Cerrespendng part-S 1.1.11' the. e-beveilentweed Patent end it .will net be necessary yto describe them in .det-ail. Theorivardkrotation of the, drivingmemlier isveifected. yfa rocking .actua-tor 57 fra-me 12. I'lfhis actuator has one arm 59 -yvhichis acted upon by a pneumatic 60 whichisconnected bya pipe .61 with a pneumatic Aor pump arrangement ,associated with the part thespeed of .which is to be dev.terminech so that at each revolution or part revolution ofsaid device an air impulse Will be forced intotlie pneumatic 60, thus raising .thearm 59. However, it Willbe obvious that-this, actuator .57E might be, operated in other .Ways than, ,by pneumaticnction With- .outdeparting flfODflv thev invention, and I do not Wish .to .be limited herein toany particular means for .operating theactuaton This ,actuator-57 isinthenature of an velbow devel', .and each arm thereof carries a pawl which .engages thez ratchet. .teeth formed in the periphery of;the driving member .40. The arin 5 9 carries a pawl 62. which is acted upon. by a. :suitable spring 6,3V ,and the other arm .oftheactuator carries a `pawl 64 which ,is-pivotallvmounted thereto ,at 65 and is .,actednponby va suitablespring v66. .The I,actuator has Yconnected thereto ,a return ,spring 6'?A which returns it to the position .shown in Fig. 14 whenfthe air impulse ceases. 4lhe arm 59 is vraised by. theairv impulse and lthe spring 6?..1zeturns-the parts .to normal ,position ;The pump mechanism may be ,arrangedsothat there Willbewone, two or finoreair impulses at eachrotation of-the .shaft or. other.partthe speed of l which is to; determined, and. there Will,. therefore, he one, two. vor more oscillations of 'the actu- .aterateachrotation of said shaft. The Ypurpose,of havingthe two pawlszand 64 .connectedqto the `actuatgn'. .on `.opposite sides otiteL pivotal point .58 isto provide a construction whereby the ,drivingmember Will he movedV forward. duringthe movement of ,thdactuatpr `in .each direction,. or, -in. other lWords,...whereby ,said driving,member .will ;.be, gv,en two .forward movements at each .complete backend `forth oscillation of the actua-tor. ,ltvill be observed that When ;the arm. ,59His lifted theupright arm of the Lactuator ivillmove to; the right, Fig. 4, and throughthe pawl 64 will advance the driving member A4:0. lDuring ,this movement the paWLGQ will click over. the ratchety teeth'on the. driving member. 4Asthefarm 59 ofthe ,actuator descends under the influence of the springv 67, the pawl 62 becomesnactive to continueI the forward movement ofthe driv- :eg memberandhe. .pa-.W1 64 clicks. oventhe ratchet teeth thereon. By this means the driving member is given a practically continuous forward movement instead of an intermittent movement as would be the case if only one pawl were used. This is an advantage especially in indicators for determining high speeds.

The positioning member is similar to the positioning member shown in the above mentioned patent in that it has a stem which extends axially through the driving member 40 and is provided at one end with a nose 46 adapted to engage any one of a series of ratchet teeth 47 formed on the face of the driving member, this construction tioning member has fast thereto a collar 48 to which is secured one end of a spiral spring 49, the other end of said spring being connected to the driving member. This spring 49 acts not only to yieldingly hold the positioning member in locking engagement with the teeth 47 of the driving member, but it also acts to return the positioning member to zero position against the stop 91 whenever said positioning member is disconnected'from the driving member. The forward rotation of the driving member acts on and winds up a main spring 51 which drives the time mechanism the same as described in the above mentioned patent. This spring is housed in a spring barrel 52 which is provided with gear teeth that mesh with and drive a gear 53 on a shaft 54, and said shaft is geared to and drives a shaft 55 carrying an escapement wheel 56, said escapement regulating the speed of the time mechanism in usual manner. The escapement shaft 56 has thereon a releasing cam 68 which releases the positioning member at'predetermined time intervals, the cam herein shown being adapted to release said positioning member twice during each rotation of the cam. For this purpose the cam has formed thereon two cam faces 69, see Fig. 3, which are adapted to engage the end of the stem 45 and thereby move said stem axially or longitudinally suiicientlj'7 to release the positioning member fioni'*'"the ratchet teeth 47 of the driving meniber. The spring 49 returns the positioning member into locking engagement with the driving member when the releasing cam has passed out of engagement with the stem 45.

Inc-the device shown in the above mentioned patent the indicating member is posi- 'zero position.

tioned directly by the positioning member, said indicating member being mounted on a shaft which has a ratchet wheel rigid therewith, which ratchet wheel has a stem extending therefrom adapted to be engaged by the positioning member. In the operation of the device shown in said patent the indicating member is first released by the time mechanism and allowed to assume a position determined by the positioning member and the positioning member is then released and returned to zero position while the indicating member is held in the position which it was thus given by the positioning member. IVith such a` construction 24E' whenever during any one interval of time the speed of the operating part has decreased, then whenever the time interval expires and the indicating member is released it will move backwardly until the pin above referred to engages the positioning member, after which the positioning member is released. There is, however, a slight interval of time between the instant when the indicating member comes into engagement with the positioning member and the instant when the positioning member is released. During this small interval of time the positioning member is moving forwardly, and as a result each time the indicating member is set it will move back as far as permitted by the positioning member and will then be given a slight forward movement due to the forward movement of the positioning member just before said pol l' sitioning mem-ber is released. This causes the indicating member to have a jerky motion each time that it is re-set which is objectionable in an instrument that is indicating very high speeds.

'In order to provide a mechanism wherein the indicating member will be re-set at each period of time without any such jerky motion7 I have interposed an intermediate member between the positioning member 110 and the indicating mem-ber and have arranged the parts so that this intermediate member is first positioned by the positioning member and after the latter is released the indicating member is then positioned by 115 the stationary intermediate member.

The indicating member or pointer 44 is mounted on a shaft 7 0 which is journaled in a bearing 7l carried by the frame 42 and which has fast thereon a ratchet wheel 72 120 that is normally engaged by a stop pawl 73, the latter being carried by a shaft 74 that is mounted in the frame 42 and is provided with a releasing iinger 75 that is adapted to be engaged by the releasing cam 68. The 125 shaft 7 O has a collar 76 fast thereon to which is secured a return spring 77 that tends normally to return the indicating member 44 to Loosely mounted on the shaft 70 is an intermediate member in the 13@ from a pin that is adapted to be engaged y the ypositioning member 43 and said intermediate member is also provided with a projection 81 which may be ank extension of the pin 80,01' may be a separate projection and which is adapted. to engage a pin or pro- `Jeetlon 82 carried by the ratchet wieel 72.

The intermediate ,member 78 is normally locked from backward Vrotation by a locking pawl 83 carried by a shaft 84 that is journaled in the frame and which carries at its end a releasing arm 85y that is also adapter'- to be engaged by the releasing cam 68. The releasing cam. 68 has two cam faces 86, one on each end thereof, each of which is adapted to engage'the releasing arms 75, 85, successively, these arms being of such a length and so positioned as to result in this successive action, as clearly seen from Fig. 5. With this construction it will be observed that as the releasing cam 68 rotates each cam surface 86 thereon will engage first the releasing finger Sand then the releasing finger 7 5 withthe result thatfirst the stop .pawl 83 will be disengaged from the intermediate member after which the stop pawl 73 will be disengaged from the indicating member. The arrangement of parts is such that this releasing of the intermediate member occurs prior to the releasing of the positioning member, while the releasing of the indicating member' does not occur until after the releasing of the positioning member.

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that whenthe device is idle or inactive and before it is set in motion the indicating member, the intermediate member and the positioning member will all be at zero position. During the first interval of time after the device is started the forward rotation of the driving member will act through the positioning member and intermediate member to drive the indicating member forward, the stop pawls 73 and 83 clicking over the members 72 and 78 during this forward movement. At the termination of the first time interval'the intermediate member 78 is first released but as it is already being driven forward by the positioning member it cannot move backwardly. After the' intermediate member is again locked by the holding pawl 83 the positioning member is released and allowed to return to zero position. If during any succeeding interval'of time the speed'decreases, then at the end of said time interval the releasing cam will first release the stop pawl 83 for the intermediate member, thus lallowing it to drop back into engagement with the moving positioning member, and after the stop pawl 83 has again become active the positioning member is released and returned to zero position, after 'which the holding pawl 73 for the indicating member is released to allow the indicating member to drop back into the position determined bys the intermediate member. The intermediate member, however, is stationary at thisftime, and, therefore, the indicating member comes into engagement with and its position is determined by a stationary member and not a moving member. The result is that the indicating pointer will have no vibrating or jerky motion when it is brought to rest as would be the case if it were positioned by a moving member. This is an important fea-` relatively high speeds and the indications are made at very short time intervals.

The operative parts of the machine as thus described will preferably be inclosed in a suitable casing in a manner similar to that shown in the above-mentioned patent.

I have shown at a disengaging device for automatically disengaging the positioning member from the driving member whenever the positioningmember reaches a certain predetermined position. The object of this device is to prevent the indicating device 44 from running by a predetermined point in case the speed should be increased beyond such point. This disengaging device is in the form of a finger or shield which overlies the ratchet teeth 47, it being herein shown as sustained by a plate 106 which is fiXedly secured to the bearing 41 and, therefore, has a stationary position. This kdisengaging device 105 can bey adjusted in any desired position, depending on the speed limit which isto be attained. IVhenever during the operation of the device the speed increases up to or beyond such speed limit then the positioning memberwill be carried from its zero position around to the disengaging device 105 beforethe expiration of the time interval, and when the nose 46 comes into engagement with the disengaging member 105 said nose becomes disengaged from the driving member and is thus returned to zero position.

lVhile I have illustrated herein a selected embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the constructional. features shown.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-y ters Patent is :-y

1. In a speed indicator, the combination izo with a rotatable driving member, of means f member, and an intermediate member between the indicating member and positioning member and by which motion is transferred from the positioning member to the indicating member,

2. In a speed indicator, the combination ivith a rotatable driving member, of means to rotate said member' continuously in a forward direction, a positioning member, means to clutch the positioning member periodically to the driving member, an indicating member, a spring tending normally to return the indicating` member to zero position, a lock to prevent baclrivard rotation otl the indicating member, an intermediate member betiveen the positioning member and the indicating member, means to cause the intermediate member to be positioned periodically by the positioning` member and subsequently to release the lock to permit the indicating member to be positioned by the intermediate member.

3. In a speed indicator, the combination with a rotatable driving member, of means to rotate the latter continuously in a torivard direction, a positioning` member, means to clutch the positioning member periodically to the driving member, means to return the positioning member to Zero position ivhen unclutched. an indicating member, a spring tending to return said indicating member to zero position, a lock to restrain such return movement, an intermediate member betiveen the positioning member and indicating member, a spring tending to return the intermediate member to zero position, a lock to restrain such return movement, and means to release momentarily the lock of the intermediate member to permit the latter to be positioned by the positioning member and after said lock becomes operative again to release the lock of the indicating member so that the latter vvill be positioned by the intermediate member. l

4E. ln a speed indicator, the combination 'with a driving member, of means to rotate said driving member continuously in a forivard direction, a positioning member, means operative in any relative position of the drivingl memberrand positioning member to clutch the latter to the former, an indicating member, an intermediate member, means to position the intermediate member periodically by the positioning member, and immediately thereafter to position the indicating member by the positioned intermediate member.

In a speed indicator, the combination With a driving member, oit means to rotate said member forward continuously, a positioning member, means operative in any relative position of the driving member and positioning member to clutch the latter to the former, an indicating member, an intermediate member, springs tending normally to return the positioning member, intermediate member and indicating member to their zero positions, locks restraining the return movement of the indicating member and intermediate member, means operated periodically to cause the intermediate member to be positioned by the positioning member and then to disengage the positioning member trom the driving member and to release the loclr for the indicating member to permit it to be positioned bv the positioned intermediate member.

ln testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of tivo subscribing Witnesses.

GEORGE H. LANG. lVitnesses Louis C. SMITH, FREDERICK S. GREENLEAF.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

